Knockdown crate.



E. B. WESTON. KNOGKDOWN CRATE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 21, 190e.

943,500. Patented Dec. 14,1909.

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EDWARD B. WESTON, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

KNOCKDOW'N CRATE.

To all whom it' may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD B. WESTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Iayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Knockdown Crates, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to crates for the packing and shipping of goods, and the purpose of the invention is to providea crate of permanent construction, in which the pack ages to be shipped may be readily and easily inclosed, and the crate readily and easily opened for the removal of the goods without the necessity of withdrawing any nails or screws, or in any way marring the packages or crate in opening' the crate, and when the packages are removed, the crate may be knocked down or folded up so as to occupy comparatively small space for the return of the empty crate.

My improved crate is especially adapted for shipping of boxes and packages containing bakery goods, or other merchandise which is usually packed in cans or boxes of a uniform size, so that the crate is constructed to hold an exact number of packages required, the empty packages to be returned in the crate, or the crates shipped back in knock down condition.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved crate with the packages removed. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the crate knocked down. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the crate. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of same extended. Fig. 5 is a similar side elevation with the crate closed, and the lower portion cut away to show the hinged links. Fig. 6 is a bottom plan View of the crate extended. Fig. 7 is a similar View with the crate folded. Fig. 8 is a detail front view of the lower portion of the crate showing the hinged construction. Fig. 9 is a detail view showing one form of locking rod for closing the crate. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of another construction of hook for locking the crate.

The body of the crate is made up of a front and rear member consisting of side bars 1 1 for the front, and 2 2 for the rear, with slats 3 3 and 4 4 connecting the side pieces and forming front and rear frames.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Application led June 21, 1906.

Ifatented Dec. 14, 1909. Serial No. 322,706.

At the bottom of the crate the two frames are connected by the links 5 5 and 6 6, which are pivoted at the lower end of the bars 1 1 and 2 2, and pivoted together at 7 8. These links are preferably of metal, and 9 is a cross bar connecting the hinges of the two sets of links. This cross bar has its ends turned up at right angles to the body of the bar at 10-10, and is secured to one link 5, and the other link 6, so as to maintain its position with reference to these two links, and when the frame is opened out, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the bar 9 will extend across flat-wise between the two hinged joints and midway between the front and rear side frames, and will serve as a stop to prevent the links opening outward, and as a substantial brace and support for the packages within the crate. Vhen the crate is knocked down, or the front and rear members folded together'by swinging the hinged links inward, the bar 9 will take a position on edge as shown in Fig. 5.

For securing the upper ends of the two side members of the crate together, I mount across the upper ends of the two side members metal strips 11 12, and I secure these two strips together by means of the hook 13, or screw-threaded rod 14.

The preferable construction is the hook 13, which is mounted permanently at one end 14 on one of the strips 12, and is provided with a hook 15 at the other end to hook over the other strip 11. This hook is shorter than the normal distance between the two side members of the crate, so that in order to secure the hook, the strips 11 and 12 are bent toward each other, and the elasticity of the metal strips holds the hook in place. In order that the crate may not be opened by unauthorized persons, I form a hole 16 in the end of the hook, and pass a loop of wire 17 through this hole and around the body of the hook, and seal the ends of the wire with an ordinary seal 18, so that as long as the seal is unbroken, and the wire in place, the crate cannot have been opened.

Instead of the hook construction, I can use the construction shown in Fig. 9, in

which 24 is a screw-threaded rod mounted loosely on one of the stripsll, and passing through an opening in the other strip 12, the strips are forced together by a thumb nut 19. In this construction a hole 20 is formed in one of the wings of the thumb nut, and the wire to be sealed is passed through this opening and through a corresponding opening in the strip 12, and then sealed, so that the thumb nut cannot be loosened without breaking the seal.

The front and rear frames of the crate are preferably made of wood, but, of course, light sheet metal may be employed in place of the slats 3--3 and 4 4, and the side pieces 1 1 and 2-2 may be constructed of metal bars with the front and rear members of the framework riveted thereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is :m

1. A knock down crate, comprising a front and a rear frame, with links for hinging the two frames together at one end, ieXible metal strips rigidly secured across the upper ends of the frames at the other end, with means for flexing toward each other and detachably securing said strips together to close the crate.

2. A knock down crate, comprising a front and a rear frame, with links for hinging the two frames together at one end, flexible metal strips rigidly secured across the upper ends of the frames at the other end, and a locking bar shorter than the distance between the metal strips hinged to one of said strips, and detachably secured to the other l for securing said strips together to lock the crate.

3. A knock down crate, comprising a front and a rear frame, with links for hinging the two frames together at one end, Aflexible metal strips rigidly secured across the upper ends of the frames at the other end, and a hook shorter than the distance between the metal strips, and permanently mounted and hinged to one of said strips and hooked over the other strip to secure said strips together to lock the crate.

il. A knock down crate, comprising a front and a rear f ame, with links for hingingthe two frames together at one end, and a flat bar connecting the two sets of links and mounted on the corresponding link of each pair so as to maintain a ixed position; relative thereto, and take a fiat position across the end oi the crate when the links are open, and a position on edge when the links are closed, with means for detachably connecting the two frames together at the other end.

.EDWARD B. WESTON.

Witnesses ALFRED MCCRAY, EARL H. TURNER. 

